At a conference I attended last week, I paid close attention to all the presenters and the audience’s reactions. Some of the presenters engaged the audience and clearly captured their attention. Here’s what I noticed about those speakers: They used the word “you” frequently, so the audience knew the content was about them. They had … Continue reading "Presenting? See what great presenters have in common" The post Presenting? See what great presenters have in common appeared first on...| Crystal Clear Communications
Are you busy? I’m busy. Almost everyone I know is busy. As busy people, we don’t have the time or patience for long-winded speakers. In every meeting I attend, I hope the speakers will be concise. Yet most of them aren’t. Many of them take 5-6 sentences to state what could be explained in 1 … Continue reading "Are you as concise as you could be?" The post Are you as concise as you could be? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Perhaps you’ve heard journalists and influencers asking tricky questions that politicians struggle to answer. What can marketers learn from politicians about answering tricky questions? Marketers face tricky questions in times of crisis If you’re a spokesperson for your company or brand, here are seven tips to help you prepare to answer even the toughest questions. Rehearse … Continue reading "7 tips on handling tricky questions" The post 7 tips on handling tricky questions appeared fi...| Crystal Clear Communications
I received a request last week. It was in the middle of a long email and didn’t feel like a direct request. In fact, there wasn’t a single question mark in the email. Almost halfway through the email, the sender wrote, “I wanted to ask how you feel about (project X). I know how I … Continue reading "Are your communications getting through?" The post Are your communications getting through? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
“Confused clients don’t write checks.” One of my mentors used to say that sentence often in his workshops. It’s true. How do you feel when you read confusing marketing content? I’m betting it doesn’t persuade you to purchase from the company that published it. I asked several marketers why they sometimes publish confusing content, and … Continue reading "Marketers: Is your content confusing your audience?" The post Marketers: Is your content confusing your audience? appeared fir...| Crystal Clear Communications
Employees are your best brand ambassadors. It’s critical that they understand and engage with your message, so they can clearly tell your story. But how do you train your employees on your message in a way that it sticks? Simply making a Message Map and showing it to your employees is not enough. Research suggests … Continue reading "Are your employees on message?" The post Are your employees on message? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Once again, I didn’t set out to write a blog about presenters while watching an episode of the YouTube talk show Hot Ones. (My previous blog inspired by the show is here.) All I wanted to do was watch the host interview Conan O’Brien as he ate a series of hotter and hotter chicken wings. … Continue reading "Presenters: Don’t let the audience in on your doubts" The post Presenters: Don’t let the audience in on your doubts appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
People in your audience can absorb only one message at a time. That’s why your Message Map needs to build around one main message, the heart of your message. The heart of your message is the one thing you want people to know about your brand, your best answer to their question: What’s in it … Continue reading "Three ideas for your marketing message" The post Three ideas for your marketing message appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
In my last blog, I wrote about how talking to your customers directly about their information and research habits helps you discover the best way to market to them. In speaking with many business-to-business (B2B) buyers across several industries, one thing is clear regardless of industry and title: Marketers must personalize content. Every single person … Continue reading "Marketers: If you want to reach your buyers, you must personalize your content" The post Marketers: If you want to rea...| Crystal Clear Communications
To break through to everyone in your audience, use Message Maps to simplify your message. Your messages are most powerful when you speak heart to heart. That’s because people make most decisions emotionally – including buying decisions – whether or not they recognize that. Serving up facts and reasons alone won’t change people’s minds. Marketing … Continue reading "Speak heart to heart" The post Speak heart to heart appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Here’s a hard question marketers need to ask: What’s the one thing your brand wants to be known for? People will remember only one thing about you. When I first ask marketers this question, most respond with a short list of attributes that make them different from competitors. Marketers want to be known for unique … Continue reading "What do you want to be known for?" The post What do you want to be known for? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
When content seems boring, often it’s because the content is too abstract. To get readers to sit up straight in their chairs, spice up your content with concrete language. Instead of describing the world from 40,000 feet, get to work at ground level. Bring the joy of life to readers by tickling all of their … Continue reading "How to change boring content into brilliant content" The post How to change boring content into brilliant content appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
I do. If you write, you do. Writers need editors. This blog answers two entwined questions about writers and editors: How can writers become even more effective when working with editors? How can editors work with writers better? Ideally, great writers and editors team up and pull together, instead of working at cross-purposes. Great writers … Continue reading "Who needs an editor?" The post Who needs an editor? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
The good news: most established companies have some sort of business continuity and crisis communications plan. Hopefully your company has one. The bad news: once companies create a plan, few ensure they’re actually ready to handle a crisis. There are a lot of steps you can take to prepare for a potential crisis. But if … Continue reading "Three tips to help your employees spot a crisis" The post Three tips to help your employees spot a crisis appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Here’s a summary and review of Ben Guttmann’s new book, Simply Put – Why Clear Messages Win – and How to Design Them. Everyone is a marketer in some form, asserts Guttmann. “The entire act of marketing boils down to just two things: what you say and how you say it,” Guttmann writes. The real … Continue reading "Ideas to simplify your message" The post Ideas to simplify your message appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Facing a life-threatening illness, Ahava Leibtag combed the Internet for every single bit of information about her condition. But the content she found didn’t help because: It was too hard to understand. It took a purely clinical point of view. It completely lacked empathy. And some content contradicted other content. Eventually, Ahava discovered a research … Continue reading "Who understands healthcare content?" The post Who understands healthcare content? appeared first on Crystal Clear...| Crystal Clear Communications
As 2023 draws to a close, I’m reflecting on what lessons I learned this year and what I’m looking forward to in 2024. While the basic rules of marketing and communications haven’t changed, new technologies, lean budgets, and choosier buyers continued to both inspire and challenge marketers. As always, communicators and marketers adjusted from lessons … Continue reading "Marketing and communications lessons and predications to help you succeed" The post Marketing and communications les...| Crystal Clear Communications
Thank you for being among thousands of marketers who read our blogs. Your reading habits revealed which topics you’re most interested in this year. These are the blogs you read most: our top 10 from 2023. Our book review and summary of Carmine Gallo’s book The Storyteller’s Secret help you create persuasive messages. “Ideas that … Continue reading "Marketers Prove Curious about Messaging, Content, and Presentations in 2023" The post Marketers Prove Curious about Messaging, Content, ...| Crystal Clear Communications
It happens to all of us. You’re in a meeting, and the time to make your point is coming soon. You’ve made your Message Map and feel prepared. And then you see a text message on your phone, a bug on the meeting room floor, or an executive in running shorts out the window, who … Continue reading "How do you stay on message when you’re distracted?" The post How do you stay on message when you’re distracted? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Is your organization the same today as it was a few years ago? The answer is probably no. All companies evolve over time. So it’s only natural that you should evolve your message too. Whether you’ve added new features to your solutions and services, expanded to serve a new audience or market, or changed the … Continue reading "Your company evolves. Should you evolve your message too?" The post Your company evolves. Should you evolve your message too? appeared first on Crystal Clear Comm...| Crystal Clear Communications
Even when you have a clear, compelling message that will resonate with your audience, you can still prevent it from getting heard. Why? Because you’re human. And humans have habits. Whether you’re giving a presentation, participating in a meeting, or simply having a conversation with a coworker, you may have habits that prevent you from … Continue reading "Are you sabotaging your message?" The post Are you sabotaging your message? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Regardless of your organization, good internal communications are essential. Why? Because employees are your most important asset. When engaged and informed, employees are your best brand ambassadors. And if they’re not, they can be brand detractors, slow your productivity, and increase your turnover rate. Yet many organizations struggle to provide internal communications that engage and … Continue reading "Are your internal communications boring?" The post Are your internal communication...| Crystal Clear Communications
My business partner George Stenitzer and I write frequently about how Message Maps can help your organization get its story heard. In fact, George recently wrote a blog that talks about the many different ways a Message Map can help your company. But did you know that Message Maps can also help you outside your … Continue reading "How to use a Message Map to succeed in everything" The post How to use a Message Map to succeed in everything appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
I didn’t set out to write a blog on how actress and producer Viola Davis can help you reach your audience. I set out to watch an episode of the YouTube talk show Hot Ones. If you’re not familiar with the show, the host interviews celebrities as they eat a series of hotter and hotter … Continue reading "Viola Davis on how to reach your audience" The post Viola Davis on how to reach your audience appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
One of Marketing’s key jobs is to help Sales sell. But companies, and therefore marketers, have different attitudes and approaches to where marketing ends, and sales enablement begins. I’ve written before about providing Sales with a toolkit. I believe marketers in organizations that lack a sales enablement function may need to take a few extra … Continue reading "Marketers: Are you enabling your sellers?" The post Marketers: Are you enabling your sellers? appeared first on Crystal Clea...| Crystal Clear Communications
Most marketers I know have a love-hate relationship with these three words: Search Engine Optimization, more commonly called SEO. That’s because while SEO helps your target audience find you, it can also be tricky to navigate. There’s also the constant struggle to balance marketing content with the right number of keywords while staying true to … Continue reading "Marketers: Do you have a love-hate relationship with SEO?" The post Marketers: Do you have a love-hate relationship with SEO...| Crystal Clear Communications
A client in a workshop asked, “Once you co-create your Message Map, what to do next?” Delivering the right message for your brand is crucial. It helps you connect with people so they listen to your brand’s story. You hook audiences with your message in 7 seconds by using Message Maps. Co-create to achieve the … Continue reading "Spread your message to succeed" The post Spread your message to succeed appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
The field of marketing analytics has been around for years, yet many marketers I speak with still feel they’re not getting the most out of their data. How do they know if their Message Map is working? Why aren’t there more conversions on their website? How do they get more engagement on social media? I … Continue reading "Marketers: Are you getting value out of your analytics?" The post Marketers: Are you getting value out of your analytics? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Recently I’ve had several clients ask me how to handle naysayers when presenting. Most of us have heard that presenting and public speaking are some of the world’s greatest fears, often ranking higher than death. Wondering how to handle naysayers can make presenting even more scary. Presenting internally and externally is one of the best … Continue reading "Are you afraid of naysayers when presenting?" The post Are you afraid of naysayers when presenting? appeared first on Crystal Clear...| Crystal Clear Communications
Technology continues to enable marketers to do more and more personalization, but do your buyers feel included? Buyer inclusion is different than buyer personalization. Personalization means you’re tailoring your marketing to specific buyers, such as using their first names, sending communications the way they prefer to receive them, and possibly knowing what holidays they celebrate. … Continue reading "Marketers: Do your buyers feel included?" The post Marketers: Do your buyers feel incl...| Crystal Clear Communications
Book review: Jonah Berger’s “Magic Words” Here’s a great book on choosing the right words to make your message more persuasive: Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way. The author, Jonah Berger, is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has written several books, including Contagious. … Continue reading "Add Abracadabra to Your Message with Magic Words" The post Add Abracadabra to Your Message with Magic Words appeared first on Crysta...| Crystal Clear Communications
Too many companies’ messages use abstract words that don’t paint a picture in customers’ minds. The problem is: abstract messages fall flat with customers. For example, a service rep might say, “We’re shipping your order.” Or “We’re shipping your pants.” Or “We’re shipping your new black Levi’s jeans.” Guess which message resonates best with customers? … Continue reading "Your message probably is not concrete enough" The post Your message probably is not concrete e...| Crystal Clear Communications
On speaker panels, does the panelist order matter? If you’ve ever attended or spoken on a panel, you know it’s hard to make a panel presentation interesting enough to capture and hold the audience’s attention. Why? Because each panelist must speak on the same topic yet differentiate from the other speakers by saying something new … Continue reading "Panel presentations: Does speaker order really matter?" The post Panel presentations: Does speaker order really matter? appeared first on...| Crystal Clear Communications
I had the luxury of spending last month in Nafplio, Greece, where I was embraced by the locals. Restaurateurs, shopkeepers, and even the gentleman at the printing place made me feel welcome. Almost every person I met offered recommendations and asked if I needed anything – and they didn’t just mean from their store. One … Continue reading "Are you earning brand loyalty?" The post Are you earning brand loyalty? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Many years ago, I came home one evening muttering about a salesperson I worked with. My life partner let me vent for a few minutes, and then, after I calmed down, said, “Honey, you do realize that marketing is just sales with better grammar.” I laughed out loud. While that sentence is not exactly true, … Continue reading "Keeping the peace between Marketing and Sales" The post Keeping the peace between Marketing and Sales appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
I recently wrote about tips for determining the size of your marketing team. Given the state of the economy and the fact that many organizations view marketing as an expense, many people responded and asked for tips on working with a small marketing team. Marketing teams must handle a variety of tasks: content marketing, tradeshows … Continue reading "Working with a small marketing team" The post Working with a small marketing team appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
In my last blog, I shared success stories from marketing colleagues that we can all learn from as we head into 2023. And today, I’m sharing one of my most impactful learnings from 2022: I wasn’t always doing enough to ensure inclusion – that everyone in my audience felt seen, known, and understood. Personal Connections … Continue reading "Marketers: Does your audience feel seen, known, and understood?" The post Marketers: Does your audience feel seen, known, and understood? appeared f...| Crystal Clear Communications
As 2022 draws to a close, I’m publishing my annual blog of marketing success stories from which others can learn. While some people resumed “normal” life, inflation, economic uncertainty, and the continuing state of COVID impacted marketing programs and budgets. The good news is that marketers are a clever group. And I once again asked … Continue reading "2022 Marketing Success Stories" The post 2022 Marketing Success Stories appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications